4 Creative Ways to Make Long-Distance Open Adoptions Work

Distance can make staying in contact more challenging. Here are some easy ways to keep in touch with your child's birth family.

Meghan Rivard
August 04, 2016

My husband and I have an open adoption with our daughter’s birth parents, who live in a different state. When we were matched with her, we committed to ourselves that we would ensure that the distance was never a barrier in creating a strong open adoption.

Any open adoption, and especially a long-distance open adoption, will not always be easy. It takes commitment from everyone, with the priority being the child/children. We communicated early with our daughter’s birth parents about our expectations and made certain that we understood theirs.

These relationships are extremely important for everyone involved, but distance can create an added challenge in making them work. So what are some ways to stay in touch in a long-distance open adoption?

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While pictures are nice, seeing people in live video adds a new dimension. We Skype with our daughter’s birth mother occasionally. While our daughter is still too young to understand what's going on exactly, she can say "Hi," and her birth mother loves that she can see our daughter playing while the adults visit.

2. Photo Marker

While we didn’t do this, I wish we had. I have seen a few friends take regular pictures of their child with a certain stuffed animal or teddy bear so you can gauge the child’s growth.

3. Shutterfly/Photo website

My husband and I also share pictures on a private Shutterfly site. It is free and very easy to use, and you can invite who you want to your site. It is a great way to share pictures and videos of events or milestones birth parents might not be present for.

4. Blog

While there is email, if you want to reach a bigger group of people, you could start a blog. Most are free and you could update it regularly for whoever wants to read it about any latest events and milestones. And you can always turn your blog into a book to keep or give to your child's birth parents as a memento.

Meghan Rivard

Meghan is an adoptive mother and a big advocate of adoption and foster care. She resides in Indiana with her husband, their one-year-old daughter who is the center of their lives, and their dog Max. She has a Bachelor's and Masterâs Degree in Social Work. Meghan stays at home with her daughter but is so happy she found this outlet to share her personal adoption story and educate about adoption!

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